I felt like we were a bit further back than I would have preferred to be with the CSM88 but I’m new to the Blumlein pattern and am still trying to figure it out. I’ve only been able to use this mic eight times since receiving it in September and unfortunately all but three of those occassions were part of larger multitrack efforts that I cannot share. I don’t think the Trey recordings misrepresent the CSM88 but it would’ve been nice to have more open space behind us. It has sounded very nice up close on acoustic guitars and pianos as well as in onstage/stage lip situations.

I know several of us are East coasters; kindms and I are in the NYC area. As your plans get firmed up let us know where on the East coast you will be and maybe we can arrange a demo situation with you/for you.

Planning will arrive in NYC the Feb. 12 night. 13/14/15 will be at Boston, 18 will be at Baltimore. March 2nd will be at NYC. In between Feb 18 to 28 could be arranged, not firm yet. It will be nice to meet you guys there.

"Don't ever take an all or nothing attitude when it comes to making a differenceand being beautiful and making the world a beautiful place through your actions. Every little bit is registered. Every little bit. So be as beautiful as you can as often as you can"

"It'll never be over, 'till we learn."

"My dream is to get a bus and get the band and just go coast to coast. Just about everything else except music, is anti-musical. That's it. Music's the thing." - Jeb Puryear

If you are using Blumlein from a distance , add a center mic (cardiod) , then adjust the center image post-recording. It's called the Blumlein-Pfanzangel principle.

or reverse MS as i jokingly call it

^This works well as a more flexible way for tapers to run Blumlein.. and is essentially a direct Mid/Side manipulation adding additional forward-directional Mid component. As level from the cardioid is increased, the resulting virtual microphone pair shifts towards hypercardioids with a narrower than 90 degree inclusive angle. Conceptually it is the same as recording in Mid/Side using a variable pattern Mid microphone. This is may be advantageous for audience taping situations in providing more fine-tuning options afterwards and making the arrangement more forward-biased rather than equally sensitive front and rear, modifying the direct/reverberant balance of the recording.

An alternate option that does not require a third channel would be to adjust the straight Blumlein recording afterwards using a Mid/Side re-adjustment. But that's not quite the same thing. Bumping up the Mid / reducing Side narrows the angle, but will not shift the microphone patterns away from bi-directional to something more forward-biased. The array always retains equal sensitivity to the front and rear if not to the sides, regardless of Mid/Side ratio and image width. This is equivalent to physically changing the angle between bi-directional capsules to something less than 90 degrees prior to making the recording (which cannot be done with a fixed 90-degree Blumlein stereo mic that does not feature a separately-rotatable capsule).

If you wish to take it one step further, try a combination of Mid/Side re-adjustment of the Blumlein pair in combination with level adjustment of the forward-facing cardioid. That way you can pay with finding the most appropriate balance between stereo-width and forward-bias without having those two aspects locked in an inverse relationship. Both adjustments still affect the other, but one can dial in more of one in combination with less of the other to compensate.

BTW, conceptually, the same can be accomplished by orienting the Blumlein microphone in Mid/Side orientation instead of L/R orientation + the coincident cardioid. This arrangement, with two Mid microphones pointing the same direction, may make the Mid/Side ratio adjustment stuff in the post above easier to visualize.

Then, if one were to use an omni instead of a cardioid, the result is horizontal-plane native-array ambisonics, with an even wider range of "variable Mid" pattern, extending beyond cardioid to subcard and omni Mid options.

But in non-theoretical real life, having all three capsules pointed more "on-axis" to the sources of interest (the stage and PA to either side of it) might be better, with the bi-directionals facing +/- 45 degrees and the cardioid facing directly forward.

If you are using Blumlein deom a distance , add a center mic ( cardiod) , then adjust the center image post-recording. It's called the Blumlein-Pfanzangel principle.

or reverse MS as i jokingly call it

Great idea, I am working on this new direct cable out version. The first product will be a stereo (duet) type, and there will be trio, and quartet version coming out. Trio can be setup in the way you mention, and also double MS. Quartet version can be used for VR, surround sound.... even double it will be an Octet version for double layer quatro ORTF/NOS....

Handel Messiah, recorded in 2016 Dec. All by B9audio microphones, 24 channels to be my recall. Microphone pres are RME Octamic II, converted by RME ADI 648 to MADI. Recorded to Video Device PIX270.https://youtu.be/bw1aJ_MOAdk